Most
of the evergreen love stories have shared
a strong connection with journeys. The
romantic travelogues of all seasons like
‘Titanic’, ‘Dilwale
Dulhania Le Jayenge’ and ‘Jab
We Met’ (later remade in Tamil as
‘Kanden Kadhalai’) have been
regarded as the best on this genre till
the date. Manigandan’s debut directorial
‘Chikku Bhukku’

slightly
touches this line, but takes a different route in
its narrative style. Chikku Bukku is a high-fashioned
flick with luxurious realms of technical aspects and
boasts of some good performances by actors as well.

The tale of Chikku Bukku cuts itself into two different
eras – 1985 and 2010. Set in backdrops of 1985,
Sekar (Arya) is found penning his beautiful memories
of love with Meenal (Preetika) in a diary. Within
fraction of seconds we are shifted to present epoch
of 2010 in London. Arjun (again played by Arya), a
peppy DJ flying back to his hometown Karaikudi to
settle down property disputes. Flamboyantly cheerful
Anu (Shriya Saran) is heading back to Madurai for
meeting her dad. Unexpected situations bring Arjun
and Anu together as they end up traveling together
in a train with wrong identity in tickets. Caught
red-handed for their conniving act, they are marooned
halfway in a desolate station. Here begins the idyllic
travel of these young vibrant couple as we commute
through different ages of love.
Manikandan is vividly influenced by his mentor late
director Jeeva’s insatiable passion for rich
colorful visuals and locations. You’ll experience
the paradise right before your eyes with Gurudev’s
spellbinding embellishment of visuals across scenic
locales of London, Chikmagalore, Coorg and Karaikudi.
On the dot, if there is one perfect reason to get
you intact with the show, the brilliant visuals stand
out as a substantial ingredient.

On
the performance level, Arya looks energetic, confident
and his delineation as Sekar is effective. Watch out
for his dance in title song ‘Chikku Bukku’.
Shriya Saran, apart from looking ravishing, strides
effortlessly, emoting to what is required. Manigandan
deserves appreciation for her portrayal that breaks
the clichés in many aspects. Newcomer Preetika
impresses with her exquisitely graceful looks. She
grabs our attention through her innocuous nature,
particularly with the scenes involving the school
inspection. The complete drama involving Arya, Preetika
and school kids tickles the funny bones. Santhanam
doesn’t get much prominence and has very little
scope to amuse us. Anup Kumar takes on his role with
decent approach and flawless acting.

Filmmaker’s predilection towards technical arenas
can be witnessed in every frame. Colonial Cousins
sway to their best in every song. Specifically, the
title song Chikku Bukku’ and Zara Zara stand
out. Choreographers deserve special praise and so
does the costume designers. Praveen Mani’s background
score could have been better. V.T. Vijayan disappoints
with loads of discontinuities between the shots. A
smooth transition between the shots would have helped
for better output.

Sluggish screenplay turns out to be one of the blatant
minuses of this film. What should have been a gripping
tale of romance loses its pace halfway. The conflicts
aren’t established properly. The main drawback
of the film is the narrative imbalance. The flashback
sequences are narrated through the lead characters’
glimpses on diary. But the lack of continuity during
second hour trivializes the intensity.

The term Chikku Bukku is often related with the slow-paced
steam engine trains. In all likelihood, the film often
becomes slow-paced and director Manikandan could have
literally focalized into this attribute diminishing
certain illogical traits.Verdict: Passable journey with few breakdowns